CA(R)MARADERIE

“I’M A CAR enthusiast” is a vague, underwhelming phrase. While it gets the basic point across, it doesn’t scratch the surface of how we interact with cars or the roles they play in our personal lives. Sure, they’re practical machines that serve the purpose of taking us from point A to point B, but they also represent freedom, identity, passion, and — perhaps most importantly — connection. Whether it’s through weekly Cars & Coffee events, drives to restoration shops in Connecticut, track days, or a grand motoring experience to the Goodwood Members’ Meeting, cars have a remarkable way of bringing people together.

Working with Audrain Motorsport over the past few years has presented me with incredible experiences, including the opportunity to meet some exceptional people and gain insight into the relationships that form around cars. Every week and at all major events, without fail, I see familiar faces, and we pick up exactly where we left off.

A “Hey!” and a hug

I first met Andy and Sheila Aronson in 2023 on Audrain Motorsport’s Colonial Williamsburg Tour. And while I don’t quite remember how we became so close, within a week, it was like I had a newly adoptive aunt and uncle. To this day, there’s never a “Hey!” that isn’t accompanied by a hug.

Andy and Sheila have been interested in cars most of their lives. When Andy was 19, he bought himself a 1964 Pontiac GTO. That’s a hell of a lot of car for a teenager, but if you know Andy, it should come as no surprise — he has a self-proclaimed need for speed. Sheila, on the other hand, was gifted a four-door Ford Falcon. And while she was too grateful to complain, what she really wanted was a sports car. As soon as she had the means, she picked up a Datsun 260Z. That’s a real car girl.

Knowing that Andy and Sheila are selective in how and when they travel, I was initially fascinated by the frequency at which their vacations revolve around the Motorsport calendar. Which made them the perfect members and couple to sit down with first.

Before I even had the chance to ask one of the questions I had prepared, Andy proudly inquired: “Would you like to know the very first Motorsport event we did?” Of course, based on their dedication to attending various events, I should have known the answer that would follow.

“Indy 500. It was the very first event, I believe, that Motorsport even did! In 2021, we were there, and not only did we go to the race, it was VIP treatment all the way!,” recalls Andy.

We continued to discuss highlights from the multitude of tours they’ve attended since the inception of Motorsport, namely Goodwood in 2024 when they found themselves sitting shotgun for a sideways ride in McLaren’s latest supercars. But the conversation kept finding its way back to friends met along the way.

A discussion of a Ferrari SF90 was swiftly sidetracked by Andy remembering a couple from the 2023 Tour in Williamsburg, Va. “Oh, that brings me back — Josh and Golda should come on more trips with us!”

Having hinted at my point without exclusively being asked, I finally asked Andy: “You attend a lot of Cars & Coffee events, participate in fall tours, and even attend Goodwood. You choose to spend a lot of time with us. What keeps you coming back?”

“It’s the cars, it’s distinctly camaraderie — it’s people,” he said.

A Thursday regular

Further proof — and showing that there’s no requirement of a grandiose, VIP experience — on a more local scale, Phil Viveiros religiously attends Thursday night open houses at Audrain Motorsport’s Vanderbilt Club. Even in the winter, when snow is sticking to the pavement and it’s been a long day at his busy propane business, you can find Phil pulling through the gates to shoot the breeze for a few hours.

I asked Phil about his earliest car memory. “My father owned an auto repair shop and gas station in Fall River. And he had me hanging around with him — helping him out, pumping gas, changing tires — he taught me all that. He was my first influence,” he recalls.

Phil eventually found himself engrossed in the racing community at Seekonk Speedway, sponsoring several drivers and annual events, but he and his wife April hadn’t quite found their crowd. When everyone else was in it for the competition, “it took away from other things we wanted to do,” he says.

“It’s just the people. You find intelligence, you find people that have really good jobs. They’re very knowledgeable — a lot more knowledgeable about cars than I am. I’m learning — I’m having a good time learning from them,” says Phil.

And while there’s extremely special automotive eye candy in the Vanderbilt Club garage, such as a 3000-mile Lamborghini Miura and a 1 of 12 ATS 2500 GTS (that Phil just learned about), it’s evident the cars are not what keep Phil coming back, rather it’s the people he enjoys interacting with — the people he wants to share a vodka & cranberry with as he winds down from a long week.

For many, the integration into the car community starts with a spark: a love for performance, engineering, aesthetics, or just the sheer joy of the driving experience. But it grows far beyond the fundamentals.

All Audrain Motorsport interactions are organized around cars, a common ground that draws the initial crowd but develops into something much more. You don’t need to be a track rat, have the automotive knowledge of a concours judge, or even know how to tune your own carburetors, because over time it’s less about polished chrome or the perfect lap.

Instead, it’s about camaraderie — the sense of belonging — that transforms a group of enthusiasts into a family.